I have noticed that Jerry Seinfeld and Mel Brooks are themselves Jewish. So in the shows and movies they write, they are lampooning themselves. I don’t understand how this equates to lampooning others.

Clearly the solution that is being suggested is respectful language. We have the choice not to use race, diagnosis, ethnicity, etc as insults. We are being asked to make that choice. Self-control and etiquette, I suppose, are forms of self-censorship — hard to succeed without them though.

I do hope that among the skills you teach your daughter you include the ability to say “Stop It” loud and clear — and not stop until she is heard — when the need arises. I also know that in a few more years your daughter and her peers will outgrow their catty phase. At what point does a person who has a cognitive disability outgrow these slurs?

Guess what? This has not gone to the bureaucrats, the courts or to the government for relief — people have taken it to the streets of their towns to ask for better treatment from their neighbors. Is that really so much to ask?

I’m one of the contributors to the online magazine 5minutesforspecialneeds and am convinced the boycott and call for the ban of the “R” word is unjustified. I’ve blogged my reasons why I feel this way on my personal blog at narrowridge.blogspot.com.

While I may not support the boycott, I am very grateful for the conversation the film has generated, and look forward to following it here on your site. Thank you ever so much for what you have done, and continue to do, for those with disabilities.

All the best,
Tom

What I notice in most of the objections to the language used in movies like “Tropic Thunder” is the absence of a solution. Should we add to the late George Carlin’s list of unmentionable words? Should “retard” be wiped from all dictionaries and banned from the lips of all Americans?

No? Then don’t plead your case if you have no solution. Feelings are hurt in this country everyday, and for a variety of reasons. If we’re not mature enough to recognize inanity for what it is and take comfort from our understanding of our own self worth, then let’s ban the term “nuance” as well and teach self-censorship classes in our public schools.

I expect that in a few years, my 8 year old daughter is going to experience what many girls in their teens endure; the often harsh critique of groups of catty girls in her school yard. I wish it weren’t a reality in her life, but it’s almost inevitable. What I’ll teach her is how to deal with such impending abuse.

Guess what? I won’t be advising her to take her case to the courts or to government bureaucrats for relief. I’ll teach her how to endure the indignity by realizing who she is and how she’s truly valued. If outside influences damage her sensibilities significantly, then I would feel that I, as a parent, have failed to guide her on the path to maturity.

Think about it.